Readers of news – whether in print or online – tend to be more educated and more affluent, which makes print and digital news products good places to advertise.

That’s the message digital marketing specialist and media consultant Mike Blinder delivered in a free workshop sponsored by The Star-News Tuesday.

Sixty-one percent of American adults read a newspaper each week, and 66 percent of adults in the 35-plus age bracket read a newspaper each week. Of those, 58 percent have a household income of $58,000 or more.

Eighty-five percent of Americans access the Internet each week, and 66 percent of U.S. newspaper website readers take an action from online ads.

And because the average American receives 5,000 marketing messages a day, small businesses have to work harder to target their customers, Blinder said.

In Andalusia, the Star-News has an average of 5,200 unique readers of its website each day.

While social media can be effectively used to market businesses, business owners need to be savvy about how tools like Facebook and Google-Plus work in order to maximize the effectiveness, Blinder said.

For instance, he said, about a year ago Facebook changed its algorithms for businesses, which affects how posts appear in news feeds. Google also uses algorithms to determine how businesses or organizations show up in searches, making it imperative for businesses to constantly work on its online presence.

Blinder also introduced “Friends to Follow,” a new feature recently added to The Star-News’ website through an association with his company.

Blinder’s associate, Frank Dorf, will be in Andalusia on Monday and Tuesday and will be available to meet with businesses interested in customized Internet marketing.

For information, contact Ruck Ashworth, Jill Prevett or Mollie Riley at 222-2402, or email ruck.ashworth@andalusiastarnews.com, jill.prevett@andalusiastarnews.com or mollie.riley@andalusiastarnews.com.